Ocean Governance Research Articles

Supporting places left to the sea: A place-based research agenda for regional coastal transformations in the blue economy

The blue economy purportedly involves equitable and sustainable development across a range of ocean sectors spanning fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, shipping, seabed mining, oil and gas extraction, and renewable energy. Here, we argue that blue economy scholarship and policy gives insufficient attention to coastal regions – and the cities, towns, and villages within – that depend on these sectors. Rather than prioritising the profitability of corporations and expansion of industry, we advise actors to consider three transformative processes that are (re)shaping coastal regions. First, are techno-industrial processes for which we draw on the fourth industrial revolution literature, highlighting that coastal regions must adapt to rapidly changing technological innovations or risk facing decline. Second, are socio-cultural processes for which we draw on the left-behind places literature, which exemplifies spatial inequalities from declining and deindustrialised coastal regions. Third, are physical-environmental processes, highlighting geographically variable opportunities and challenges around natural resources, marine biodiversity, and climate change in coastal regions. We then promote place-based policymaking as a multi-level and participatory mode of managing these transformations. Finally, we present a blue economy research agenda to help navigate these transformative processes, and enable place-based solutions. The article intersects with broader literatures around ocean governance and sustainable transformations.

International Environmental Law and Marine Pollution in the Pacific Islands: Promoting Sustainable Ocean Governance

International Environmental Law and Marine Pollution in the Pacific Islands: Promoting Sustainable Ocean Governance

Technology advancement and international law in marine policy, challenges, solutions and future prospective

The use of technology and international law in marine policy is becoming increasingly vital as we seek to address the challenges facing our oceans. Technology has revolutionized our ability to monitor, understand, and manage marine ecosystems, providing valuable tools for data collection, analysis, and decision-making. International law, ocean governance ensuring marine environment represented by the frameworks such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), plays a crucial role in governing the use of technology and establishing guidelines for the sustainable management of marine resources. This paper explores the intersection of technology and international law in marine policy, highlighting the transformative impact of technology on our understanding of the oceans and the legal frameworks that shape our approach to marine conservation. It examines the benefits of technology in enabling evidence-based decision-making and fostering international collaboration, while also addressing the legal and regulatory complexities that arise. The paper emphasizes the need for ongoing dialogue and the development of international legal frameworks to adapt to emerging technologies and discourse ethical considerations, and by harnessing the power of technology and international law, we can work towards effective marine policies that ensure the conservation and sustainable use of our oceans for future generations.

Co-creating a sustainable blue economy for sweden

Co-creating a sustainable blue economy for sweden Wehn, Linders and Barquet explain how the MISTRA C2B2 programme is working to bring about transformative change in participatory ocean governance in Sweden. The ocean – the new frontier of human activity – is being redefined by new discoveries, technologies, national strategies, and ecological imperatives. Yet, it is undeniable that the status of most seas is in decay – and if the goal would be to restore or improve their status, then most human activities should be banned. Instead, we witness that, in recent years, the blue economy is promoted as an answer to energy and food insecurity, as well as to an increased demand for shipping of goods, and transport of people and services. So, humanity depends on marine livelihoods, but the blue economy is also rapidly increasing pressure on the long-term sustainability of marine ecosystems.

Blue economy and food security the way forward: A systematic literature review analysis

Sustainable growth spotlights the significant challenges of the blue economy and food security. Escalating global attention has fueled fresh scientific inquiry into these areas, driven by their paramount importance in addressing pressing issues. This paper explores into the intersection of these concerns, which particularly emphasizing the supply chains of ocean resources, which have gained prominence due to the escalating effects of climate change. The changing climate exacerbates the vulnerabilities of oceanic food sources, compounding the urgency of understanding this nexus. To illuminate this complex landscape, the paper employs a comprehensive approach, encompassing a systematic literature review spanning seven years, 2017 and 2023. A dataset of 28 research papers sourced from the Scopus and WoS databases provides the foundation for this analysis. Through content analysis, thematic areas are identified, allowing for the identification of key trends and concerns within the literature. The results of this study extend beyond mere data trends; they encompass geographical distributions and reveal three overarching themes that encapsulate the study's focal areas: the blue economy, food security, and ocean governance. In essence, this research contributes to a deeper comprehension of the intricate interplay between the blue economy and food security, shedding light on the multifaceted challenges that must be tackled to achieve sustainable growth in the face of evolving climate dynamics and increasing global demands.

Interconnected principles of ocean governance through science-policy integration under the judgements of the international dispute settlement bodies.

International Dispute Settlement Bodies (IDSBs), through their judgements, have consistently urged the States to take scientific approaches in ocean governance for marine environmental protection. There has been the development of significant jurisprudence which undertake policy principles with scientific prescription in ocean governance. The jurisprudence relating to maritime dispute resolution has primarily relied on the interpretative criteria of 'integration' for science and policy as specified in the Vienna Convention. Indeed, this principle of 'integration' integrated 'science-policy' through various concepts, and IDSBs applied and endorsed the 'rule of law', 'cooperation', 'precaution' and 'ecosystem-based approach' to lay stress on the progressive ocean governance. This also reflects that the scientific basis in jurisprudence demonstrates a change in the international organisations' interests (of environmental protection and global sustainability). Moreover, it is also suggested at the end how the provisions related to Marine Scientific Research can be purposefully developed and maintained to protect the marine environment and ecosystems in light of the decisions of the IDSBs. This research article analysed the relevant jurisprudence to explain the principles for science-policy integration, which operates in ocean governance for marine environmental protection.

Principles for transformative ocean governance

With a focus on oceans, we collaborated across ecological, social and legal disciplines to respond to the United Nations call for transformation in the ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’. We developed a set of 13 principles that strategically and critically connect transformative ocean research to transformative ocean governance (complementing the UN Decade for Ocean Science). We used a rigorous, iterative and transparent consensus-building approach to define the principles, which can interact in supporting, neutral or sometimes conflicting ways. We recommend that the principles could be applied as a comprehensive set and discuss how to learn from their interactions, particularly those that reveal hidden tensions. The principles can bring and keep together partnerships for innovative ocean action. This action must respond to the many calls to reform current ocean-use practices which are based on economic growth models that have perpetuated inequities and fuelled conflict and environmental decline.

Towards a solid-fluid territory: Sand dredging, volumetric practices, and earthly elements

Since 2020, although Taiwan has expelled dredgers and sand-transporting vessels from areas under its control, it has failed to stop sand loss. Marine researchers have noted that such issues problematise the ontology that underlies work on territory and ocean governance, wherein the ocean is regarded as a flat space that can be zoned and territorialised. Attention has thus shifted from considering the ocean as a flat terrestrial legal boundary to regarding it as a dynamic, volumetric entity, constantly shaped by the distinct qualities of the ocean and human endeavours. While such thought-provoking work offers crucial insight into our understanding of territory, its emphasis on the distinct qualities of water unconsciously reinforces the distinction between the land and the sea. Informed by recent materials-related social studies, this paper proposes the notion of the marine environment as a solid-fluid territory that foregrounds the importance of planetary dynamic geological processes. I argue that in this sense, territory is always involved in the governance of solid-fluid transitions in different voluminous contexts. The solid-fluid territory, I suggest, is characterised by three elements: solid-fluid transitions, resources, and volumetric practices. With reference to the controversy over sand mining in the Taiwan Strait, this paper reveals that while various geotechnologies are deployed to manage solid-fluid materials, state security practices often complicate our understanding of these shifting, dynamic geological processes and challenge human boundary-making. Therefore, geopolitics must acknowledge the nuances resulting from such solid-fluid movements and transitions, as well as their impacts on territorial issues.

A constitution for the ocean? An agora on ocean governance

AbstractThis introduction briefly discusses the global constitutional issues raised by ocean governance and introduces the three pieces from our Agora contributors.

Ocean-based negative emissions technologies: a governance framework review

The model pathways of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) for the timely achievement of global climate targets, especially the target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels, suggest the need for safeguarding and enhancing the global carbon sink. Experts argue that the deployment of so-called negative emissions technologies for large-scale carbon dioxide removal holds potential for keeping the temperature in line with limits set by the Paris Agreement. Ocean-based negative emissions technologies (ONETs) intend to enhance carbon sequestration and storage in the ocean, e.g., by changing the ocean’s physical or biogeochemical properties. But in addition to these intended effects, ONETs may also cause unintentional impacts on the ocean’s condition and on related coastal and marine ecosystem services that are relevant for the attainment of a range of global policy goals. This article links potential direct and indirect, intentional and unintentional impacts of eight ONETs on the marine environment to the regulations and policy goals of international environmental agreements of the current global ocean governance regime. The results thereof outline a direct, implicit and indirect governance framework of ONETs. Hereby, a broader perspective of the concept of (global) ocean governance is adopted to outline a wider network that goes beyond the explicit regulation of ONETs within the realm of ocean governance. This first-order assessment derives gaps and challenges in the existing governance framework, as well as needs and opportunities for comprehensive governance of the technologies. It is determined that while the inclusion of ONETs in the global climate strategy may be deemed necessary for reaching net zero emission targets in the future, a range of potential trade-offs with other policy goals may need to be considered or dealt with when deploying ONETS for climate mitigation. Further, foresight-oriented and adaptive governance mechanisms appear imperative to bridge gaps resulting from extensive uncertainties and unknowns linked to ONET deployment in a changing ocean and. The identified ONET governance framework reiterates current challenges in ocean governance, for instance related to fragmentation, but also represents an opportunity for a synergistic and integrated approach to future governance.

The Control of Microplastic Pollution in Semi-Closed Seas: Good-Faith Cooperation and Regional Practice

The impacts of microplastic (MP) pollution in the marine environment have already been illustrated by natural science. The issues resulting from MPs have revealed the problem of the current international governance arrangement, and international agreements are found to be inadequate to curb the growing MP pollution. This article explores reasons for the failure of governance cooperation from legal normativism and positivism. By analyzing the semi-closed sea system in the UNCLOS, this article concludes that the principle of good faith makes it possible to moderate geographic political tensions during cooperation and help reach an agreement on matters of mutual concern. Then, from the perspective of regional ocean governance, propose strategies for states bordering semi-enclosed seas and others to gradually control MP pollution in the marine environment through legal and policy measures.

Reflections on international ocean science and ocean governance: Can our global structures rise to the occasion?

AbstractThere is increasing awareness that the ocean touches all aspects of our lives and that a healthy ocean is central to a healthy planet and sustainable future. The ocean is a highly connected system and ocean science is characterized by voluntary international collaboration supported by an enthusiastic and engaged community. Increasingly, it is being recognized that international structures and instruments need to be stronger and more holistic than the current arrangements. This article outlines some perspectives on this, drawing on experience in ocean science and scientists at national, international and intergovernmental levels.

Ocean literacy for an Ocean constitution

AbstractFirmly cemented in history as a connector of people, a facilitator for trade and transport routes and a driver of culture and heritage, the ocean has directly influenced globalization, and humanity more generally, for generations. While the ocean was perhaps once viewed as infinite and insurmountable, globally our oceans, coasts and seas have experienced unprecedented change in recent decades with climate change, loss of biodiversity and overfishing among the challenges being addressed through contemporary ocean governance. Moreover, and crucially as we continue to strive for sustainable ocean futures, the global ocean is increasingly being recognized as a peopled space. This article explores the role of ocean literacy as we look towards achieving sustainable ocean futures.

Making the most of what we already have: Activating UNCLOS to combat marine plastic pollution

Adequately responding to the crisis of marine plastic pollution will require parallel actions, by a variety of actors, on multiple fronts. The ocean governance regime, which has generally failed at shaping state behavior around land-based pollution, offers important legal and conceptual resources that can and should be utilized in these efforts. This article reviews three areas where the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) could be activated or applied to the problem of marine plastic pollution: the common heritage of mankind principle, the dispute settlement system, and reform through implementing agreements. Utilizing these elements of the ocean governance regime would be complementary to on-going efforts to negotiate a new plastics treaty. Working through UNCLOS offers several advantages, including important in-roads for non-state actors, norm-strengthening through an already well-subscribed regime, and expanding the avenues and obligations for scientific data collection on the patterns and impacts of marine plastics.

Marine debris provide long-distance pathways for spreading invasive corals

Anthropogenic marine debris and invasive species are pervasive in the ocean. However, research on the mechanisms and dynamics controlling their distribution in marine systems (e.g.; by floating debris acting as vectors for invasive species) is limited. Applying a numerical modeling approach, we demonstrate that rafting invasive corals (Tubastraea spp.) can be transported over long distances and reach important tropical receptor regions. In <180 days, buoyant debris can cover distances between 264 and 7170 km moving from the Brazilian semiarid coast to the Amazon coast and reaching eight regions in the Wider Caribbean (mainly the Eastern Caribbean and Greater Antilles). Analyzing 48 simulated scenarios (4 years × 3 depths × 4 months), we demonstrate that in ~86 % of the scenarios the particles are stranded in the Caribbean and in ~71 % they end up in the Amazon coast. Our results showed litter floating trajectories at 0–10 m water depth, transported every year to the Caribbean province. However, in August this transport is frequently blocked by the retroflection of the North Brazil Current adjacent to the Amazon River estuarine plume. Our results indicate routes for fast and long-distance transport of litter-rafting invasive species. We hypothesized a high risk of bioinvasion on important marine ecosystems (e.g., coral reefs) likely becoming increasingly threatened by these invasive species and debris. This highlights the imperative need for an ocean governance shift in prevention, control, and eradication, not only focused on local actions to prevent the spread of invasive species but also a broad international action to decrease and mitigate marine debris pollution globally.

Critical Perspectives on the New Situation of Global Ocean Governance

Global ocean governance is the concretization of global governance. Various interest groups interact with and coordinate ocean issues. Global ocean governance is inevitably linked to the new global governance landscape. In recent years, a series of new scenarios in global governance have emerged. These situations have further shaped the plurality of participants and the diversity of mechanisms in global ocean governance. Science and technology innovation and application are prerequisites and prime movers for the evolution of global ocean governance. Major worldwide crises, represented by global climate change and the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, have added great uncertainty to the future development of global ocean governance. The divergence of interests and positions between emerging countries and developed countries, as well as the reshaping of the global geopolitical landscape in recent years, has led to the stagnation or deadlock of a series of international negotiations and international cooperation platforms related to global ocean governance. With the deepening of global governance, non-state actors are not only objects of ocean governance but also bearers of legal obligations and enjoy varying degrees of legal rights, participating in agenda setting, rule construction, and monitoring implementation at different levels of ocean governance. From a critical jurisprudence perspective, in the practice of global ocean governance, the relationship between non-governmental organizations, states, and international organizations is more likely to be one of reconciliation than the “state–civil society” dichotomy of moral imagination. This new set of circumstances exposes the divisive and fragmented nature of global ocean governance. This study concludes that the new situation of global ocean governance constitutes a historic opportunity for countries to reexamine the role of the rule of law during the Anthropocene to bridge the fragmentation and gaps in mechanisms and achieve a truly integrated, holistic, and closely nested global ocean governance. The question of how to implement the rule of law requires the introduction of theoretical perspectives such as the Anthropocene, complex systems theory, and the community of a shared future for humanity to undertake a fundamental critical reflection and rethinking of global ocean governance.

Old Sea, New Ice: sea ice geoengineering and indigenous rights in Arctic Ocean governance

ABSTRACTThis comprehensive paper explores the complex interplay between Arctic sea ice governance, geoengineering, and the rights of Indigenous peoples. It raises critical questions about the feasibility of regulating potential sea ice geoengineering initiatives while upholding Indigenous rights. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, the paper investigates diverse perspectives on Arctic sea ice encompassing its roles in climate science, international law, and for Arctic Indigenous peoples, contributing to ongoing discussions on implementing Indigenous rights within Arctic governance and emerging climate technologies. As climate interventions are becoming a likely reality, the paper emphasises the imperative of integrating marine geoengineering responses to climate change into global ocean law and governance, with a specific focus on climate justice and the active involvement of Indigenous and local communities in the decision-making. Using analogies of resource exploitation, this paper also explores whether the conceptualisation of geo-engineered sea ice as a resource and looking at existing international legal frameworks governing resource extraction could enhance the effective implementation of Indigenous rights. The paper contends that there is an urgent need to develop an oceanic ethics component that considers Indigenous rights in the context of geoengineering, and advocates for nature-centric visions, Indigenous-led climate actions, and community-level marine resource management within international legal frameworks to strike a balance between the rights-based approach and emerging climate intervention technologies.

Marine Biodiversity Management under the UNCLOS: Scope and Challenges in the era of blue Economy Policy

Developing a governance framework for marine biodiversity, explicitly to Marine Genetic Resources (MGRs) is crucial for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity. Addressing the challenge of protecting biodiversity in the global ocean requires a sound knowledge and understanding of the complex marine environment with a sound support for ocean governance, including data development and expert consultation, that could also contribute to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for the proposed 2021–2030 Sustainable Development. Future challenges include capacity building and new approaches to incorporate traditional knowledge. Even though the CBD framework put forward a legal framework for the governance of biological diversity from within national jurisdiction, but the issue of biodiversity governance from beyond national jurisdictions remained unaddressed. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) framework leaves behind the marine scientific research activities under the ‘freedom of high seas’ regime, but the international community has become increasingly aware of the growing threats to marine biodiversity in ABNJ and been conferring alternatives to conserve and sustainably use it. UNCLOS proposes to promote sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources especially marine mammals and highly migratory species but specifically silent on marine genetic resources and promotion of marine scientific research in ABNJ for the efficient utilization of resources. UNCLOS lacks modern conservation principles (such as the ecosystem approach and precautionary principle) and conservation tools (such as strategic environmental assessments and marine spatial planning) that is part of achieving sustainable development goals. This paper aims to do critical study of UNCLOS provisions and the international legal principles and economical concepts to bring a balance between competing values, perspectives and interests in the conservation and sustainable governance of marine biodiversity is aimed through this paper.

Implementing international law: capacity-building, coordination and control

The implementation of international law requires State capacity, including knowledge of treaties and institutions by domestic officials. The training of State officials is often delivered by an international organisation, agency or secretariat as part of the capacity-building programmes required by the treaty that each administers. Yet, of the increasingly urgent calls for international cooperation to address climate change, biodiversity crises, public health threats and plastic pollution, among other issues, not one can be addressed by a single treaty or international organisation. The practical, operational and theoretical challenges of coordination deserve more attention by international lawyers. This is especially important given the development of pandemic-era remote learning technologies and the proliferation of e-learning opportunities. Disparities in resources, and the categorisation of developing and developed countries, further complicates the production and dissemination of knowledge. This article focuses on capacity-building, technical assistance and training, and includes the author’s experience with collaborative training initiatives in ocean governance, to which United Nations agencies, the World Bank and academic partners contribute. The article describes the high stakes of integrative initiatives, the outreach by international organisations and the interaction between regimes. It seeks to account for collaborative capacity-building activities and the adaptive role of participants within the system of international law.

Negotiations to implement area-based management tools beyond national jurisdiction: the scientific community’s view

A new international legally-binding instrument, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction has recently been agreed on– the BBNJ agreement. Area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas (MPAs) have an important role in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services in the current context of multiple threats to the ocean and are one of central elements of new instrument. In this work, we assessed the perspective of the scientific community, throughout the period of negotiations, on the potential of the BBNJ treaty to promote the creation of new area-based management tools, including MPAs, and fulfil acknowledged gaps in ocean governance. A systematic literature review was conducted, resulting in 80 publications then analysed in detail. From these, a total of 608 key messages were retrieved and classified into: 1) Strengths (S), Weaknesses (W), Opportunities (O) or Threats (T) for a SWOT analysis and 2) one of six categories that cover crucial aspects for the successful implementation of the ABMTs in areas beyond national jurisdiction. A Sentiment Analysis (SA) to these key messages shows that the instrument has been perceived by the scientific community as an opportunity for conserving and achieving sustainable use of biodiversity. However, the scientific community also feels that agreement needs stronger provisions to ensure effective measures, which is reflected by the small number of identified strengths. An overall decrease in sentiment score over the negotiations period, i.e. a growing pessimism, was also observed, which is supported by an increase of weaknesses and threats identified in the final stages of the negotiations. Our results suggest that despite its potential to promote conservation in areas beyond national jurisdiction, the instrument should include a unified definition of MPA, address fishing activities and clarify conflicting terms in its provisions, such as the term “not undermine”. Further, we show that sentiment analysis is a useful tool to evaluate opinion trends and facilitate the integration of different and subjective perspectives into final provisions of complex social-political-environmental agreements, identifying positive and negative attitudes that can enable better solutions to address existing governance challenges in international waters.